NEW YORK MOTOR SHOW: Kia confirms baby SUV
Kia design chief reveals Korean brand's plan for a sub-Sportage crossoverKia has provided the strongest hint yet that it will soon join the burgeoning pint-size city-SUV segment with an all-new crossover to slot beneath Sportage.
The cheeky Korean brand has already revealed its vision of a B-segment SUV via the Niro concept at last year’s Frankfurt motor show. Now, it says the booming sub-$25,000 compact SUV segment is simply too attractive to ignore.
“The B [compact] SUV segment is a very interesting segment and we are considering this kind of thing,” said Kia and Hyundai design chief Peter Schreyer at today’s New York show opening.
“The Niro was a car that was in this direction.
“The B SUV is an upcoming segment as well as for emerging markets but also in the European and American market as a lifestyle segment,” Schreyer stated.
Earlier today, sister-brand Hyundai said it would release 12 new models in the next three years, including at least one additional model for a segment in which it does not currently compete.That model is widely expected to be the ix25, the first image of which was leaked last week ahead of its world debut at the Beijing show this Sunday.
Like the ix25, the production version of Kia’s Niro is likely to be based on the Hyundai-Kia group’s next-generation i20 light car, which has been captured testing numerous times and will be positioned below the ix35 in Hyundai’s SUV line-up.
Indeed, when it unveiled the 4185mm-long Niro, which was designed under Kia’s Europe design chief Gregory Guillaume, Kia said it was based on an all-new platform that will form the basis of all future B-segment products.
Schreyer said there was room for both Kia and Hyundai to each produce a small soft-roader. Such a move would give both companies their first direct rival for the Holden Trax, Ford EcoSport, Nissan JUKE, Peugeot 2008, Skoda Yeti, Suzuki S-Cross and Renault’s upcoming Captur.
“It’s a very attractive segment, so why should there not be enough space for Kia and Hyundai?
“If we don’t do it, some other ones [brands] would do it anyway.”
In addition to an all-new platform, the Niro previewed a new hybrid powertrain incorporating a 118kW 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
In the Niro the engine drove the front wheels and an electric-hybrid system powered from regenerative braking delivered up to 33kW to the rear wheels as required.
However, expect the showroom model to ditch this hybrid drivetrain, in addition to the Niro concept’s dihedral doors, stainless steel roof, futuristic LED lights, 20-inch milled aluminium wheels and sinister ‘Nightfall’ paint.
Although the concept was a 2+2-seater, the eventual production vehicle is expected to offer five conventional seats.
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